


Exhaustion

by writteninstone



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Boys In Love, Fluff, Healthy Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 12:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11851206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writteninstone/pseuds/writteninstone
Summary: The way Alec smiled when Magnus said he took hot baths when he was over exerted made me think that they had done that before. So in this fic, Magnus comes home from a particularly draining day and Alec has drawn him a bath. Fluff ensues from there.





	Exhaustion

**Author's Note:**

> I don't usually write fluff, so this might not be any good. I might be adding more chapters to this as it goes on and maybe develop a story with it? I'm not really sure. i'll probably be editing this at some point since im not sure if i am entirely happy with it. please feel free to give me feedback!

There were some tasks that Alec just knew took a lot out of Magnus. Certain spells used a lot of his magic, leaving him tired and grumpy. A few times, Alec had been asleep by the time Magnus had come home, but he had heard the bathtub fill up. By the time Magnus had finished his bath, Alec had fallen back asleep again. Alec had eventually caught on to the type of jobs that would use most of Magnus’s magic. One time, he had come home from a day of desperately trying to undo a spell cast on a young vampire by another warlock. He had spent hours using every counterspell he knew to undo what had been done, but to no avail. Alec was his first call on his way home.

“Alexander,” his voice came through the line. He sounded absolutely spent. “I’m leaving the Dumort now. I don’t have enough magic to summon a portal, so I guess the mundane way it is.” 

He heard Alec chuckle through the phone and his heart fluttered as Alec’s voice immediately soothed him. “How long do you think you’ll be? Do you want me to meet you?” 

“No, I’ll be fine. But thank you. I should be home in no more than an hour. I’ll see you then?” 

“Absolutely,” Alec answered, an almost giddy tone to his voice. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” He hung the phone up and walked to the edge of the sidewalk. A yellow cab turned down the street and Magnus threw up an arm to get it’s attention. It violently pulled up to the curb and stopped. Magnus climbed in the back seat and gave the cabbie his address. He made himself comfortable in the backseat. It was going to be a long ride home. 

 

He had almost fallen asleep when the cab skidded to a halt. Magnus looked out the window and up at his apartment building looming over him. He fished money out of his wallet and threw it in the front seat. He pushed the door open and practically rolled out of the car. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he walked into the building. Luckily, the elevator was just opening to allow a group of people to exit and Magnus managed to slip onto it just before the doors closed. Pushing the button to the penthouse level, Magnus slumped against the back wall of the elevator, resting his head against the wall as well. The elevator seemed extra slow tonight. All Magnus had wanted was to sink into a hot bath and wrap himself up in his boyfriend. When the elevator slowed at his floor, Magnus peeled himself off the wall and made his way down the hall and around the corner to his apartment. He threw open the door and shrugged out of his jacket shoes before padding further into the apartment.  

 

“Alec, I’m home!” he called out when he saw the Shadowhunter was nowhere in sight.

 

“I’m in here!” Came Alec’s response and Magnus followed the sound of his voice to the bedroom. The bathroom door was open and Alec was sitting on the edge of the claw footed bathtub. He smiled when he saw Magnus. He stood up and poured him a glass of wine before handing it to him. The bath was full of hot water, steam rising off of it.

 

“What’s all this?” Magnus asked before taking a sip of the velvety wine. 

 

“I know you usually take baths when you’ve had a busy day so I thought I would have one ready for you when you got home,” Alec answered. “I was going to try and mix you a drink, but I had no idea what I was doing so I settled for wine instead. Hope that’s okay?” 

 

“Wine is perfect, Alexander, thank you,” he answered. He swirled his glass and took another sip. Magnus set the glass down and wrapped his arms around Alec’s waist. He rested his head against Alec’s shoulders and closed his eyes. 

 

“Want to talk about it?” Alec asked as he placed a kiss on the top of Magnus’s head. He wrapped his arms around the Warlock’s back and gave a little squeeze. 

 

“I have no idea how to fix this, Alexander. I tried everything I knew,” he said, his voice conveying nothing but defeat. 

 

“What happened to him?” Alec asked. Magnus slowly disentangled himself from Alec and began to remove his rings.  

 

“He and this other warlock, one I don’t recognize, got into a fight. He put a spell on him much like the one Jocelyn was under. I just can’t seem to get the right combination of ingredients to wake him. Each spell is slightly different. Each warlock has their own signature and I can’t figure this one out. It’s a lot easier to figure out the counterspell when you know the warlock who cast it,” he explained, all the while removing pieces of his clothing. He stood now in just his pants.

 

“I wasn’t aware there were any warlocks you didn’t know of,” Alec said, trying to keep his focus on Magnus’s face rather than his perfectly sculpted torso. If Magnus noticed Alec eyeing him, he didn’t let on. This was a true testament to how tired he was because he never passed up an opportunity to joke with Alec about being checked out. 

 

“I know all the warlocks in New York,” he explained. “I can feel this one’s magic because they’re so close, but I can’t pinpoint who it is. I definitely don’t have the energy to try and find him tonight so it will have to wait a few days.” 

 

“Well, if you need any help, I’m here for you,” Alec offered. The corners of Magnus’s mouth twisted up into a small smile. He undid his belt and pushed his pants down to his ankles. Alec noticed that Magnus had gone commando today, which not unusual. 

 

“Thank you, Alexander. I might just take you up on that,” he said as he stepped into the bathtub. He sank down to his chin in the warm water, groaning as his muscles relaxed. Alec bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before turning on his heel to leave. “You’re not joining me?” Magnus asked, disappointment clear in his voice.

 

“Oh, uh, I, uh, I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to stay,” Alec stammered. They had never done this before. In fact, it had never even crossed Alec’s mind to bathe together. A shower he understood, but a bath seemed more personal somehow. “I just figured you would want to relax after all the energy you used today.” 

 

“I can relax with you in here as well. Come on, Alexander, join me,” he compelled, reaching out his hand to Alec.

 

Alec turned around and began to discard his clothing, entirely aware of Magnus’s eyes on him as he did so. Magnus scooted to the middle of the tub so that Alec could settle himself behind Magnus, wrapping his long legs around the Warlock. Magnus sank back into Alec’s chest and intertwined Alec’s fingers in one of his hands while he grabbed his wine glass with the other. He took a sip before resting his head on Alec’s shoulder, looking up at him. 

 

“So how was your day?” Magnus asked softly.Alec let out a long sigh and Magnus caught on immediately. “That bad, huh?” 

“Clary is going to get us all de-runed. All these unsanctioned missions she’s dragging us on are really going to backfire on all of us. I know she’s just trying to prove that the only thing she has in common with Valentine is a bloodline, but I mean really? It’s like every day she drags out on some crazy quest that almost kills us all,” he blurted out. “I’m sorry. I know you’re fond of her.” 

 

“Not if she’s trying to get you killed, I’m not!” Magnus assured him. Alec let out a small, hardly noticeable, laugh at that. 

 

“I just don’t know when enough is going to be enough with her,” he hissed. “I’m getting really tired of bailing out her and Jace.”  Magnus didn’t answer him. When Alec looked down at him, it seemed as if he was far away, lost in thought about something. Alec placed a kiss on his cheek and Magnus snapped back to reality. “Hey, where did you just go?” 

 

“I’m sorry. I just can’t stop thinking about the vampire. There has to be something I haven’t tried,” Magnus worried, biting at his bottom lip.

 

“Magnus, you did all that you could today.You’re burnt out. You need to get some rest and take care of yourself first,” Alec lectured. “You can try again when your magic is back. But for now, how about a massage?” 

 

Magnus’s eyes gleamed at the thought and he nodded his head furiously. He sat up just enough to give Alec access to his shoulders. Alec began kneading and rubbing at Magnus’s shoulders. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing, but he seemed to be doing a good job if the noises coming from his boyfriend’s mouth were anything to go by. After a few minutes, Magnus’s eyes began to close and his head began to droop. 

 

“Getting tired?” Alec asked gingerly, smiling at his Warlock trying to stay awake even though he was clearly forcing himself to stay awake. 

 

“Just a little,” Magnus answered, his voice sleep slurred as his head fell back against Alec’s shoulder. 

 

Alec reached for the shampoo. He cupped his hands and dipped them under the water, slowly pouring the contents on Magnus’s head to dampen his hair just enough to clean it. He poured a small amount of shampoo in his hand and began to massage the liquid into his boyfriend’s scalp. When his head was sufficiently soapy, Alec gently guided Magnus down to the water so he could wash all the soap out of it. Once he deemed his boyfriend’s scalp clean enough, he stood up and pulled Magnus with him. After helping him out of the tub, Alec grabbed his fuzzy blue robe and wrapped it around him. He took a towel from the cabinet and wrapped himself in it. He grabbed a small hand towel and gently dried Magnus’s sopping wet hair. Magnus then traipsed over to the bed, discarding his robe at the edge of the bed and climbing under the sheets, naked. Alec couldn’t help but laugh at how absolutely adorable Magnus was when he was exhausted. Alec quickly dried himself off, pulled on a pair of sweats, and drained the tub. He grabbed the book from the bedside table and settled into bed next to Magnus. It was mere moments before Magnus inched slowly towards Alec, wrapping himself around him in every place he possibly could. His eyes fluttered open and he glanced up at Alec. 

 

“Read to me?” he asked wearily. 

 

“‘I was pretty well through with the subject. At one time or another I had probably considered it from most of its various angles, including the one that certain injuries or imperfections are a subject of merriment while remaining quite serious for the person possessing them,’” he began.

 

“Hemingway?” Magnus asked, a tiny bit more awake now. 

 

“What do you not like him?” Alec asked. 

 

“No, this is fine. The Sun Also Rises has always been one of my favorites,” Magnus answered. He placed his head on Alec’s stomach, settling into him as Alec’s voice lulled him to sleep. 

 

Alec had only read a few sentences when he noticed that Magnus had fallen asleep. He smiled and put the book down. He pulled the blankets up over Magnus’s bare chest and carded his fingers through his hair a few times. He picked his book back up and kept reading. He began to wonder if Magnus had known Hemingway. Maybe one of these characters was based off of Magnus. He decided he would ask him in the morning. When he finished the chapter he was on, Alec settled for watching Magnus sleep until sleep would eventually take over him as well. He reveled in the softness of Magnus’s face. The hard exterior he usually had on was gone. His walls crashing down as sleep restored him. His face was free of any make up and Alec noticed how much younger he looked. His mouth was slightly parted and his breathing was heavy. Alec loved that he was one of the few people who had the pleasure of seeing Magnus like this, so mundane. It was something he would never get tired of. 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr here: http://idjitsgonnaidjit.tumblr.com/


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